Trousers-stretcher



(No Model.)

M. -LATHAM- TROUSERS STRETGHBR.

. Patented Apr. 24,- 1894.

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TME mman. LrrHosnAPHxNa COMPANY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARQUIS LATI-IAM, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TROUSERS-ST'VRETCHER.

- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 518,760, dated April 24, 1894.

' Application filed May 25, 1893- Serial No. 475.427. (No model.)

To aZZ whom t may concern,.- l

Be it known that I, MARQUIS LA'rHAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Trousers-Stretcher, of which the following is a specification.

Figure 1 shows my devices when extended to stretch the trousers throughout their whole length. Fig. 2 shows the stretcher applied only to the knees of the trousers. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the stretcher.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, light, and yet strong and durable frame, by means of which trousers may be stretched to take out the wrinkles from the waist band to the edges of the legs, and prevent bagging at the knees, and which shall combinein one simple part, the several means heretofore employed for accomplishing the moving of the cla/Inps through relatively long distances and getting the desired adjustment to keep the trousers taut while in the frame.

In the drawings, the device isshown as being made up of two duplicate oppositely arranged T-shaped sections, designated as a whole by A and B. The section A has a shank or longitudinal bar a with a cross bar a at the outer endlsecured thereto by bolts or screws, and a clamping bar a2 adapted to be drawn toward the bar a by screws and thumb nuts as. The section B has a similar shank b, a cross bar b', and a clamp bar b2 adapted to be clamped against the said cross bar by screws and th u mb nuts b3. The 'two longitudinal bars slide on each other, each having secured to the inner end a strap c encircling the other thus bracing the two sections A and B firmly together against lateral displacement, and yet allow-v ing them to slide relatively to each other.

Mounted upon the inner face ofthe longitudinal bar a in a bearing C is a screw rod C having the collars c2, c3 to prevent the longitudinal movement relatively to the bearing,

and also having the hand wheel C', for rotating it. The screw works in a nut D which is secured to the end of the longitudinal bar b, there being -a groove d in the inner face of the said bar b, in which the screw C lies. It

will be seen that the screw rod is comparatively long, and extends nearly the length of the bar a. By means of the screw rod C and the nut D, the two sections can be slid apart until they assume the positions shown in Fig. 1, there always being a iirm bracing provided by the straps c c. Or when-desired, the twov sections can be drawn together to assume the positions shown in Fig. 2 where the device is applied to a pair of trousers to remove the wrinkles and bagging at the knees only instead of from the whole length of the trousers as in Fig. l. The threads on the screw C are of such a pitch, that the sections are rapidly m'ovedrelatively to each other. 65

I am aware that stretching devices for this purpose have been made with a bottom clamp and a single T-shaped part with a top clamp, the sha'nk of the T-shaped part sliding through a socket in the lower or bottom clamp, together with a short screw for exerting a pressure for stretching. But in this earlier device, the T-shapedv part had to be made inseveral pieces in order to permit the length of the whole device to be adjusted for different purposes, such adjustment being effected by slotting one of the parts and combining with them a thumb nut. In my case, v the device is reduced to the utmost simplicity, and I can adjust the length of the whole for dierent purposes, and lalso effect the stretching pressure by one and the same devices. The shanks of the parts can be light and yet strongly braced between the clamps, as each consists of a single piece. The clamps are held much more firmly than if one of thembeloose as to the longitudinal shank and provided with an aperture for the latter to slide through it.

I am also aware that stretchers have been made of two overlapping T-pieces as is shown in Patent No. 492,27 9 to H. F. Featherstone. But there was no provision of a combined adjusting power device, and but a limited adjustment was possible. i

Another type of earlier stretchers is illustrated in the British patent to Guy,No. 2,865, of 1877. Here use was made of two sections of wide relatively thick board which had to be separated to effect anystretching, one sec- Ioo l nal bar of one section having a groove in its inner face, and a nut with its aperture in the longitudinal lines of the groove, and the other longitudinal bar having secured to it a screw rod which lies in said groove, and between the said two longitudinal bars, substantially as set forth.

MARQUIS LATI-IAM.

Witnesses:

W. T. GRIFFITH, W. R. BRUCE. 

